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Biomedical subjects

J W King

Publications and source records attributed to J W King.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1998

Neural plasticity in the dynamics of human visual word recognition.

Repeated exposure to words leads to plastic changes in the nervous system throughout the lifespan, with the consequence that common words are processed more rapidly and accurately than rare words. Most behavior time measures correlate highly with the logarithm of a stimulus word's experiential frequency. Here, we demonstrate similar but earlier changes in the latency of a brain-generated evoked potential recorded over the left anterior scalp as individuals silently read sentences. We conclude that experience can speed the processing of some words by at least 50 ms within the first 335 ms of visual processing.

Brain↗
PubMed1997

Event-related potentials elicited by spoken relative clauses.

Sentence-length event-related potential (ERP) waveforms were obtained from 23 scalp sites as 24 subjects listened to normally spoken sentences of various syntactic structures. The critical materials consisted of 36 sentences each containing one of two types of relative clauses that differ in processing difficulty, namely Subject Object (SO) and Subject Subject (SS) relative clauses. Sentence-length ERPs showed several differences in the slow scalp potentials elicited by SO and SS sentences that were similar in their temporal dynamics to those elicited by the same stimuli in a word-by-word reading experiment, although the effects in the two modalities have non-identical distributions. Just as for written sentences, there was a large, fronto-central negativity beginning at the linguistically defined "gap" in the SO sentences; this effect was largest for listeners with above-median comprehension rates and is hypothesized to index changes in on-line processing demands during comprehension.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Fat content for nutritional labeling by supercritical fluid extraction and an on-line lipase catalyzed reaction.

A method using sequential supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) and enzymatic transesterification has been developed for the rapid determination of total nutritional fat content in meat samples. SFE conditions of 12.16 MPa and 50 degrees C were utilized to extract lipid species from the sample matrix. The enzymatic transesterification of the lipids by methanol was catalyzed by an immobilized lipase isolated from Candida antarctica. Conversion of the triglycerides to fatty acid methyl esters was monitored by supercritical fluid chromatography, while the fatty acid content of the extract was determined by capillary gas chromatography (GC). Total fat, saturated fat and monounsaturated fat contents were calculated from the GC data and compared to values from traditional extraction and lipid determination methods. Both off-line SFE and automated SFE followed by on-line GC analysis using two different instruments were utilized in this study. The enzymatic-based SFE method gave comparable results to the organic solvent extraction-based method followed by conventional BF3-catalyzed esterification.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Disparate prognosis of thrombotic microangiopathy in HIV-infected patients with and without AIDS.

Thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) is more common in HIV-infected individuals than in the normal population. In idiopathic TMA, plasmapheresis with or without prednisone decreases the mortality rate from almost 100 to 10%. Patients with HIV-associated TMA, who do not have AIDS, have a similar favorable outcome when treated with plasmapheresis. However, all 12 patients previously reported with AIDS-associated TMA have died. We report another patient with AIDS-associated TMA, who had a fulminant hospital course and died despite plasmapheresis. None of the reported AIDS-associated TMA patients had evidence of opportunistic infections, sepsis or disseminated malignancies at the time of their death. Since many infections and malignancies can be associated with TMA, it is possible that TMA can be an association of the terminal illness rather than an independent cause of death in AIDS patients. To examine this possibility, we reviewed the charts of all the patients who were hospitalized and died of AIDS at our medical centers from 1987 to 1994. Of the 214 patients reviewed, 15 patients (7%) had evidence of TMA at the time of their death. Seven of the 15 patients (47%) had no direct cause of death other than TMA. The remaining 8 patients had evidence of sepsis and other overwhelming infections. In conclusion, TMA is common in AIDS patients. While HIV-associated TMA has a good prognosis similar to that of idiopathic TMA, AIDS-associated TMA has a grave prognosis. The etiology of the higher mortality in AIDS-associated TMA as compared to HIV-associated TMA remains unclear.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1995

Cardiopulmonary arrest after retrobulbar anesthesia in a patient with an orbital roof defect.

PURPOSE: Cardiopulmonary arrest developed after injection of bupivacaine hydrochloride, lidocaine, and hyaluronidase in a 78-year-old woman who had previously undergone ipsilateral transcranial orbital surgery with removal of the bone of the orbital roof. METHODS: The patient required immediate cardiopulmonary resuscitation and intubation. Mechanical ventilation was necessary for 18 hours before spontaneous respirations resumed. RESULTS: The patient improved and was discharged on the fifth postanesthetic day. CONCLUSIONS: There were several possible mechanisms by which the local anesthetic could have entered the central nervous system. In patients with orbital roof defects, we recommend that retrobulbar anesthetic agents be used with caution.

Aged↗
PubMed1993

Ribavirin and intravenous immune globulin therapy for measles pneumonia in HIV infection.

We have described a patient, immunocompromised from an infection with the human immunodeficiency virus, who had rapidly progressive measles complicated by measles pneumonia and respiratory failure. Rapid improvement in the patient's condition followed therapy with inhaled ribavirin and intravenous immune globulin. Patients who have measles pneumonia associated with respiratory failure may benefit from combination therapy with ribavirin and IV immune globulin.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Do topical antibiotics help corneal epithelial trauma?

Topical antibiotics are routinely used in emergency rooms to treat corneal trauma, although no published evidence supports this treatment. In a noncomparative clinical trial, 351 patients with corneal epithelial injuries were treated without antibiotics. The infection rate was 0.7%, suggesting that such injuries can be safely and effectively managed without antibiotics. A comparative clinical trial is neither warranted nor feasible.

Administration, Topical↗
PubMed1992

Alterations in the microbial flora and in the incidence of bacteremia at a university hospital after adoption of amikacin as the sole formulary aminoglycoside.

Because of the rapid emergence of resistance to gentamicin and tobramycin among isolates of aerobic and facultative gram-negative bacteria at our university hospital, we designed a prospective study to track aminoglycoside resistance, bacteremic episodes, and bacteremia-associated deaths before and after the institution of amikacin as the sole formulary aminoglycoside. From June 1984 through June 1987 (immediately before this policy change), amikacin accounted for only 20% of patient-days of aminoglycoside therapy, and rates of resistance to gentamicin, tobramycin, and amikacin among aerobic and facultative gram-negative bacterial isolates were 12.8%, 10.8%, and 5.9%, respectively. During the next 30 months (immediately after the change in policy), amikacin accounted for 98% of patient-days of aminoglycoside therapy, and rates of resistance to gentamicin, tobramycin, and amikacin were 6.3%, 5.0%, and 3.3%, respectively. Furthermore, during the latter 30 months, the incidence of both bacteremia and bacteremia-associated death decreased significantly. Hospitals at which resistance to gentamicin or tobramycin is increasing among the gram-negative flora may benefit from the use of amikacin as the principal aminoglycoside.

Amikacin↗
PubMed1991

Urine drug screening for cocaine after lacrimal surgery.

We investigated whether the results of routine urine drug screening for cocaine would be positive after dacryocystorhinostomy. Postoperative urine specimens were analyzed for the presence of benzoylecgonine, the major metabolite of cocaine, by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The results of urine tests of all 12 patients were positive for cocaine 24 hours postoperatively. Nine (75%) were positive 48 hours postoperatively, and three (33%) had detectable levels 72 hours after surgery. Patients given cocaine at the time of lacrimal surgery should be warned that they may test positive for cocaine for at least three days postoperatively.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Microbial contamination of arterial infusions used for hemodynamic monitoring: a randomized trial of contamination with sampling through conventional stopcocks versus a novel closed system.

Arterial catheters are now commonly used to monitor blood pressure and obtain blood samples for arterial blood gas and other laboratory determinations. Stopcocks inserted into the pressure monitoring circuit have been the primary means of obtaining blood from arterial catheters. However, these stopcock systems have been associated with nosocomial contamination and bacteremias. Because of the problems of bacterial contamination and blood wasting with the stopcock sampling systems, we compared the frequency and extent of contamination of external sampling ports and the monitoring tubing fluid in stopcocks with that of a novel closed needle-sampling system (Lab-Site, Migada Ltd, Rehovot, Israel), incorporated into pressure monitoring tubing (Abbott Laboratories Inc., North Chicago, Illinois). We found that use of the novel sampling system resulted in significantly fewer episodes of internal bacterial contamination of the arterial monitoring line (7%) than did the use of a stopcock system (61%). External contamination of the sampling port was also lower in the novel system (8%) than in the stopcock system (37%). This suggests that the closed system may reduce the risk of nosocomial infections in patients requiring arterial pressure monitoring.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Herpes zoster myelitis occurring during treatment for systemic lupus erythematosus.

A 15-year-old girl with systemic lupus erythematosus suddenly developed fever, meningismus, and herpes zoster. Within 48 hours, transverse myelitis developed at the level of the nerve root involvement of the herpes zoster. Since both systemic lupus erythematosus and varicella-zoster have been reported to cause myelitis, therapy was initiated for both. The rapid and simultaneous resolution of both the herpes zoster and the neurologic deficits strongly supports the causal association of both with varicella-zoster. This is the second reported case of herpes zoster-associated transverse myelitis in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Acyclovir↗
PubMed1989

Late dissemination of pulmonary blastomycosis during ketoconazole therapy.

We report a patient with pulmonary blastomycosis who suffered relapse with dissemination of her disease after five months of apparent response to therapy with ketoconazole, 400 mg daily. Common causes of drug failure, including noncompliance and failure of absorption, were excluded, and there was no evidence of altered host immunity. Previous reports of relapse during and after ketoconazole therapy are reviewed; no previous case was found with recurrence near the end of a six-month period of apparently effective therapy. Close followup during the entire course of ketoconazole therapy for blastomycosis and following its completion is recommended.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Results of a prospective statewide reporting system for infective endocarditis.

To better understand the microbiology, anatomy, and demography of infectious endocarditis, we devised a prospective statewide reporting system to study these infections. Because our study design required accurate diagnosis, reliable case reporting, and a high probability of physician-to-case exposure, we enlisted the help of cardiologists, cardiovascular surgeons, and infectious disease specialists throughout Louisiana. All Louisiana members of the American College of Cardiology and the Infectious Diseases Society of America were invited to participate. Participants were supplied with a brief endocarditis report form and asked to complete the form as they saw patients with infective endocarditis. Seventy-five patients with infective endocarditis were reported for a case rate of 1.7 per 100,000 persons per year. This report analyzes the results from this one-year study.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Leprosy in six isolated residents of northern Louisiana. Time-clustered cases in an essentially nonendemic area.

Northern Louisiana has been essentially free of indigenous leprosy, and now it is not. Six new cases of leprosy have been diagnosed: three in 1986, the other three in 1985, 1983, and 1982, respectively. The patients had been lifelong residents of six scattered rural parishes. Leprosy had never been reported from five of them. No patient had had contact with human leprosy. The patients were white; four were women; the mean +/- SD age at onset was 60.3 +/- 16.4 years (age range, 31 to 80 years); and the mean +/- SD interval to diagnosis was 1.2 +/- 1.4 years. One patient had Hodgkin's disease at the age of 25 years and leprosy at the age of 31 years; another patient had cervical carcinoma. All rural northern Louisiana residents coexist with armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus), some of which are infected with Mycobacterium leprae, the significance of which is unknown. Hypothetically, exposure to an unknown human case, reactivation of "asymptomatic" leprosy through immunosenescence or immunosuppression, or infection from an environmental source might have occurred. Because the patients lacked contact, travel, residence, and exposure risk factors, the origin of leprosy in the new indigenous cases is noteworthy and is not understood.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Antimyosin antibodies and constrictive pericarditis in lupus erythematosus.

We report the first case of constrictive pericarditis in a woman with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Immunopathologic studies demonstrated IgG, IgA, IgM and C3 distributed throughout her pericardium including vessel walls. Cardiospecific antimyosin, antisarcolemmal and antipericardial antibodies were detected in serum obtained prior to surgery or steroid therapy. Antibodies disappeared and creatine phosphokinase decreased to normal concentrations during prednisone therapy. Antimyosin antibodies were not detected in 11 sera or in one pericardial fluid obtained from patients with lupus with active pericarditis unaccompanied by constriction. Evaluation of antimyosin antibodies in other patients with this rare manifestation of SLE is warranted to further assess their pathologic significance.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Neutrophil uptake of vaccinia virus in vitro.

We studied human neutrophils for uptake of vaccinia virus. Uptake was determined radiometrically and by electron microscopy. Vaccinia virus was labeled with 14C or 3H, incubated with neutrophils, and quantified in neutrophil pellets in a new radiometric phagocytosis assay. Better results were obtained from assays of [3H]thymidine-labeled virus; uptake increased through 1 hr and then plateaued. Phagocytosis of 3H-labeled Staphylococcus aureus was normal. Uptake of virus was serum dependent. Hexose monophosphate shunt activity was measured by two methods. No 14CO2 from [14C]1-glucose accompanied uptake of vaccinia virus, in contrast to the respiratory burst accompanying bacterial phagocytosis. Electron microscopy showed intact to slightly digested intraphagolysosomal vaccinia virus. Pock reduction assay showed a decrease in viral content due to neutrophils until 6 hr of incubation, when a modest but significant increase was observed. Thus, neutrophil uptake of vaccinia virus is distinguished from bacterial phagocytosis.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Metabolism in human endomyocardial biopsies and cardiac work.

The activities of the Krebs cycle (KC), glycolytic pathway (GP), and the hexose monophosphate shunt were studied in endomyocardial biopsies obtained from 25 patients and were related to left ventricular stroke work index (LVSWI). Unexpectedly, KC activity was greater in patients with a reduced LVSWI than in those with a normal or elevated LVSWI. When the cardiac work:KC ratio, defined as LVSWI divided by KC activity, was plotted against LVSWI, the correlation coefficient was 0.86. Cardiac work did not correlate with other metabolic pathways measured. Patients with a reduced LVSWI generated less cardiac work per unit of KC activity than those who had a normal or elevated LVSWI. These data indicate that a reduction in LVSWI below 40 gram-meters/square meter (gm-m/m2) may be associated with either inefficient energy production, inefficient energy utilization, or both.

Biopsy↗